PDO and PGI, Italy on top of the world

Italy’s world record in the number of PDO and PGI Food & Wine products is strengthening, with 818 protected Geographical Indications registered in Europe. The food sector has reached a production value of 14.8 billion euros and an export value of 8.4 billion. Ismea – Qualivita 2017 report show a growth of 6% on an annual basis, and an increase in consumption in the retail large-scale channel of 5.6% for fixed-weight foodand +1.8% for wine. The trend of the last 10 years shows a continuous growth of Italy’s PDO and PGI system, which has consolidated its economic weight. By now it represents 11% of the food industry and 22% of the national agri-food exports (in 2015 it was 21%).

How much are PDO and PGI worth

The Italian PDO and PGI food sector, which in 2016 counted 83,695 operators (+5% on 2015), is worth 6.6 billion euros to production and 13.6 billion to consumption, with a growth of 3% on 2015. Exports continue to grow as well (+4.4%) and in the large-scale retail channel sales exceeded 5.6% for the second year running. As for wine – over 3 billion bottles – it is worth 8.2 billion euros to production with a growth of 7.8% and nearly 5 billion in value to exports (out of a total of 5.6 billion). The PDO and PGI system in Italy guarantees quality and safety also through a network that, at the end of 2017, counted 264 Protection Consortia recognized by the Ministry of Agriculture and over 10,000 annual interventions carried out by public control authorities.

Europe and Italy

Italy maintains the world record in the PDO, PGI, and STG certified production sectors, with 818 food & wine products and 4 new registrations in 2017. PDO, PGI and STG are growing also globally, with 46 new products in 2017, 43 of which in EU countries. Furthermore, for the first time since 2013 new registrations were also made in the wine sector: 7 PDO in European countries. In 2016, sales of PDO and PGI fixed-weight food products increased by 5.6% in value in the Italian large-scale retail channel, with a more sustained trend compared to the total fixed-weight agri-food sector (+1.2%).

Territorial economic impact

The territorial analysis and the economic impacts by province show a sector that is more and more extending throughout Italy. The impact of the system is geographically concentrated – starting with the areas of the Northeast, where the majority of the economically most important districts are located (58% of food value, 56% of wine value), from the Emilia “Food Valley” to the Veneto-Friuli “Prosecco system”. Nevertheless, there is not a single area in Italy that has not benefited from the strong relative growth of PDO and PGI products supply chains. This also applies to smaller productions that, by expressing their full potential, are important drivers of the high-quality food sector from the North to the South of the country.